The invention relates to a monocular optical instrument and more particularly to a portable variable power zoom periscope.
There are many occasions when people are standing in a crowd behind several people and trying to see an event that is taking place. People in a crowd, particularly if they are short have a problem trying to see what is happening over the heads of people in front of them. With this periscope, you can see over the crowd. The viewer can clearly observe what is happening and the viewer also has the benefit of adjustable magnification. The 4xc3x97 to 9xc3x97 zoom feature makes this instrument especially useful at crowded golf tournaments, from hunting blinds, at horse races, for law enforcement surveillance and swat team operations, for the observation of procedures in operating rooms by doctors and trainees, etc. The zoom feature adds numerous advantages and opportunities for using the portable variable power zoom periscope.
Law enforcement personnel and swat teams have situations during their job that require that they peek around corners when they are searching for individuals. These situations present a danger for the law enforcement officers. Using the portable variable power zoom periscope provides them a better and safer way for viewing an obscured area without placing themselves in danger of being physically attacked or shot. Law enforcement personnel frequently have to search for individuals when it is dark or under conditions of limited light. The officers presently try to manipulate a mirror and flashlight. This unit with a flashlight attached, illuminates the area being viewed and with adjustable magnification, will be safer and provide a much more effective view of the search area.
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel portable periscope having a flashlight detachably secured thereto.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel periscope having a zoom lens.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel portable periscope having a radio mounted in its handle.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel portable periscope having a belt hook for attaching to a belt thereby keeping the hands free for other use.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel portable periscope having a prism housing mounted on an adjustable slide bar.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel portable periscope having a unique and easily attached flashlight holder bracket.
It is another object of the invention to provide a portable periscope that is economical to manufacture and market.
The portable variable power zoom periscope has an eyepiece allowing the user to use one eye and look through the monocular tubular member. The prism housing on the top end of the slide bar would be pointed in the direction of the object or the person he wants to view. There is a handle on the bottom end of the periscope that allows the user to conveniently hold it in a position close to his eye. This handle is removable. The ocular tubular member contains a zoom lens that is easily adjusted with the person""s other hand. The focusing ring on the eye piece can also be adjusted with that same hand or the other thumb.
The slide bar is reciprocally mounted in a pair of vertically spaced brackets secured to the outer surface of the main tubular member. The slide bar can be easily adjusted to whatever height the individual wishes and a stop pin on the lower end prevents the slide bar from pulling out from the slide bar mounting brackets.
When the portable periscope is to be used in the dark or a low light area, such as an attic, or to see around a corner, by law enforcement personnel, a flashlight holder can be quickly and easily attached to a bracket at the top end of the slide bar. The orientation of the flashlight would direct its light parallel to the axis of the reflective prism mounted in the prism housing.
The removable handle is mounted in the bottom end of the periscope. It has a threaded neck portion whose diameter is slightly less than the opening of the minor loop portion of a removable belt hook so that the neck portion can be inserted into the opening when the handle is attached to the periscope. This allows the belt clip to be easily secured to the bottom end of the periscope so that it can be carried on a person""s belt thereby freeing their hands for other purposes. For a recreational type application, there may be a radio mounted in the tubular housing of the handle. It would have an earpiece speaker input jack in its bottom end that would allow the sound to be transmitted to the earpiece speaker of the user. A conventional on/off volume control and tuning control would extend outwardly through the tubular housing.